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Floyd Davis: Last Act, Last Scene
New Britain Museum of American Art
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Voice and the Alexander Technique
F.M. Alexander was a young and ambitious actor in Australia, when he first lost his speaking voice. Since voice-rest, prescribed by his physician, only solved the problem as long as he didn't perform, he recognized that the loss of "his instrument" must be due to something he was doing wrong. Over the course of weeks, months and years he developed what is now called the Alexander Technique, a tool for the improved "Use of the Self".
In 1977, when I chose Speech Language Pathology as my future career, I learned that I had a nodule on one of my vocal chords and could only re-apply to the school after successful voice therapy. A few years later and with my degree completed, as a clinician at a university clinic and in private practice, I was able to help many people reverse their vocal nodules, find their personal vocal expression, and strengthen their speaking voices in difficult environments. As I began to see my own vocal behavior, failure and success, connected to the way I experienced and used myself as a whole person, voice rehabilitation became my passion.
If you have a chronic voice condition like hoarseness, weakness or frequent loss of your voice, you should contact an Ear, Nose and Throat specialist and seek support from your health insurance for the services of a certified Speech-Language Pathologist. However
- if you wish your voice to represent your inner self and outer goals
- if you are dreading a speaking opportunity, be it the one time Bar/Bat Mitzvah or the regular demands of your speaking profession
- if you want to come across and be heard, be it in a job interview or a noisy restaurant
- if you would like to explore and find the range, possibilities and strength of your vocal expression
...maybe you want to trust me with your voice and see if the combination of my hands-on knowledge as an Alexander Technique teacher and my background and experience as a voice therapist can provide you with new tools and experiences.
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in a relatively mundane activity! Whether we pour a glass of champagne, play an instrument or water our flowers, wouldn't it be wonderful to do so with such quality, with length and width, with poise, inhibition and direction?